Summary On the morning of 23 January 2004, the small fishing vessel Lo-Da-Kash departed Maces Bay, New Brunswick, on a trip of 21nautical miles to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, to pick up fishing gear. When the vessel was about halfway back to Maces Bay on the return trip, it sank with four persons on board (two crew members and two guests). One person swam a short distance to shore, but subsequently succumbed to hypothermia. Two people drowned, and one person remains missing and is presumed drowned. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Particulars of the Vessel Description of the Vessel The Lo-Da-Kash was a small fishing vessel of the Cape Island design, constructed of moulded, glass-reinforced plastic, with the wheelhouse and accommodation forward, the engine room beneath the wheelhouse, and the work deck aft. Access to the wheelhouse was through a hinged door on the starboard side. Access to the engine room was through a large hatch cover located in the wheelhouse. No watertight bulkhead was fitted below deck (see Figure1). The vessel had recently been converted from a sea urchin dive boat to a sea urchin dragger. This modification included the installation of an A-frame near the stern and a cable winch at the forward end of the work deck to enable the vessel to tow a drag along the ocean floor. The 720 kg A-frame was installed a week before the occurrence, and was built with two 6.4m vertical galvanized steel sections and a 1.5m section across the top. The deck winch had approximately 366m of 11mm steel towing cable that was rigged from the deck winch, through a steel block on the top section of the A-frame, and out to an urchin drag. Two urchin drags were aboard the vessel, weighing about 635kg each. They measured 3.05m wide and were constructed of a steel frame with chain links forming the body. The work deck had three flush hatches, capable of being secured watertight by four screws, located along the centreline and providing access to the below-deck space in way of the steering gear, the fuel oil tanks, and a bilge pump. Two freeing ports of about 150mm by 50mm each were located in the bulwark at the level of the deck on each side, and the vessel had a low freeboard. As a vessel not exceeding 15in gross tonnage, the Lo-Da-Kash was a small fishing vessel and subject to the requirements of the Small Fishing Vessel Inspection Regulations (SFVIR), PartII. It was not subject to periodic inspection by Transport Canada (TC) and was not required to submit stability data for approval, nor was such data available for this vessel. History of the Voyage On the morning of 23 January 2004, the small fishing vessel Lo-Da-Kash, with four persons on board, departed Maces Bay, New Brunswick, for a short transit to Campobello Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick (see AppendixA). The intent of the trip of 21nautical miles was to pick up two sea urchin drags in Campobello and return to Maces Bay the same day. Environment Canada had forecast temperatures of -10C with west-northwest winds of 20to 25knots, accompanied by freezing spray. The water temperature was about 4C. During transit to Campobello, the Lo-Da-Kash headed west-southwest and the vessel experienced ice accretion. The Lo-Da-Kash picked up the sea urchin drags in Campobello and departed mid-afternoon for the return voyage. When the vessel was about halfway to Maces Bay, one of the drags was deployed over the stern and the cable run out on the winch. The fishing gear became caught on the seabed and the vessel sank in position 4504.07'N, 06640.42'W. The two guests were trapped in the wheelhouse and drowned. One of the crew members made his way from the vessel to a rocky beach and up a two-metre cliff into the tree line, a distance of about 480m, where his flotation vest was found. About 230m from the flotation vest, his jacket was found along with a lighter and what appeared to be an attempt to build a fire. The deceased crew member was found 15m further down the shore. The operator is still missing and presumed drowned. Although the Lo-Da-Kash was equipped with a very high frequency (VHF) radio and a cellular phone, no distress call was received. The VHF was not fitted with a digital selective calling (DSC) capability, nor was one required by regulations. The Lo-Da-Kash was not reported missing until the afternoon of Sunday, January25, about two days after the estimated time of the occurrence. Search and Rescue Operations The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax received the initial report of the overdue Lo-Da-Kash on January25 at 1315Atlantic standard time.2 The Canadian Coast Guard cutter (CCGC) Westport, CCGC CourtneyBay and CCGS SirWilliamAlexander were tasked the afternoon of January25, as well as Aurora, Hercules and Cormorant aircraft. Upwards of 20local fishing boats and ferries also assisted in the search. The search was hampered on January26 by winds of 40to 50knots, extreme cold, and diminished visibility to near zero with sea smoke. Nothing was found and the search was called off on January29 after covering an estimated area of 42000square nautical miles. On February4, the body of the deceased crew member who had made it to shore was discovered. Also found a little further down the shore was the hatch cover for the engine space. With this information, searches were resumed both on shore and at sea, concentrating around the area where the deceased was found. The Lo-Da-Kash was located on February11 after a helicopter spotted a steady stream of fuel coming from the ocean floor. Divers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), assisted by local divers, searched the area and located the wreck. The Lo-Da-Kash was found resting upright and inclined to the port side in about 25m of water, among rocky outcrops and ledges. The two deceased guests were recovered from the port side of the wheelhouse. The urchin drag, attached to 43m of cable, was also discovered. The cable was found caught in a notch on an underwater ledge. Injuries Autopsies determined that the crew member who swam to shore had succumbed to hypothermia and the two guests recovered from the Lo-Da-Kash had drowned. The operator is still missing and presumed drowned. Dive and Salvage The TSB conducted a dive on the Lo-Da-Kash on 20May2004. The vessel was on the seabed right-side up. The visible portion of the hull and superstructure were inspected with only superficial damage observed on top of the wheelhouse on the port side. The port-side window of the wheelhouse was found broken, and the hinged wheelhouse door on the starboard side was found open. The engine throttle and gear levers in the wheelhouse were in the slow astern position, and the rudder was turned to port. The liferaft was discovered laying on the seabed near the vessel, still in its canister with 4.5m of the 10m painter paid out and attached to the cradle. The urchin drag was found laying about 40m from the Lo-Da-Kash. The towing cable had parted with about 43m still attached to the drag. The other end of the cable led from underneath the vessel to the deck winch, where the last few wraps on the drum were found drawn into and deeply embedded in some of the inner wraps. The stern of the vessel was found partially covering the second drag. On September 27, the Lo-Da-Kash was raised and towed to Beaver Harbour, New Brunswick. The vessel was beached and temporary patches were placed over three holes found in the hull. After the vessel was afloat, an inclining experiment was carried out to assess its stability. After recovery, the following items were noted: the three holes on the port side were consistent with holes that would occur after prolonged contact and chaffing against rocks on the sea floor; the access covers for the hatches on the work deck were not in place; the last few wraps of the cable on the deck winch were deeply embedded in the remaining cable; when stretched out, the end of the cable from the deck winch reached the top block on the A-frame; the cable winch was found with the clutch engaged; the spare urchin drag was still made fast to the boat; both VHF radios were turned on; the vessel's anchor was hooked into the spare trawl with no anchor line attached; the engine controls were in the slow astern position, and the ignition key was set in the ON position; and a post-recovery disassembly of the engine and gearbox revealed no anomalies. Photo1.Lo-Da-Kash post-recovery Stability-Related Data A lines plan and an outline general arrangement (see Figure1) of the Lo-Da-Kash were prepared. The inclining experiment report was produced. All facts and data pertaining to the stability of the vessel were gathered. Using the lines plan, a computerized model of the vessel was prepared, including two fuel oil tanks and the after well together with the freeing ports. Hydrostatic and cross curves were produced, together with the lightship characteristics of the vessel, using the data available from the inclining experiment report. Aspects of the Lo-Da-Kash's stability were compared against the stability standards3 for small fishing vessels. Although the vessel was not required to comply with the stability standards, these standards provide a yardstick against which a vessel's stability can be assessed. Fishing Operations Operators of urchin dragging boats typically deploy the drag over the stern, with the cable running through the top block (see Figure2 and Figure3). Prior to the drag being towed along the bottom, the cable is brought down from the block to a level closer to the transom of the vessel to reduce the heeling moment. On the Lo-Da-Kash, this is achieved by attaching a chain to a strong point on the vessel's deck with a snatch block at the end. The snatch block is then attached to the towing cable while leading vertically down from the top block on the A-frame. When the vessel begins to drag, the stress comes on the snatch block. In this instance, the chain arrangement had not been installed the evening before the Lo-Da-Kash departed for Campobello. Personnel Certification, Training, and Experience The operator had more than 25years of experience at sea, most of which were spent on various types of fishing boats. He had sailed the Lo-Da-Kash in the Maces Bay area with the A-frame in place on at least two occasions before the accident, but had no experience dragging for sea urchins on this or any other boat. The other crew member had more than 10 years of experience fishing, but no experience stern dragging. Because the Lo-Da-Kash had a gross tonnage of less than15, no navigation training was required. However, the operator held a master, limited certificate, and had marine emergency duties (MED) training. Neither the two guests nor the crew member had any formal navigation or MED training. Consequent to changes in the Crewing Regulations, MED training for fishers is now mandatory and is being phased in with the completion date of July2007. Life-Saving Equipment Although not required by regulation, the Lo-Da-Kash carried a liferaft (RFD Seasava Plus four-person liferaft) that was fitted on top of the wheelhouse and held in its cradle with a senhouse slip attached to nylon straps. This configuration required manual operation in order to deploy the liferaft. A post-occurrence dive on the vessel revealed that, although the liferaft had cleared the chocks, the straps that had secured the liferaft on the cradle were still in place and connected by the senhouse slip. The liferaft was not fitted with an automatic release mechanism or other arrangement that would permit the liferaft to float free automatically in the event of sinking, nor was it required. The Lo-Da-Kash was not required to carry an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), nor was it equipped with one. One of the two bodies found on the vessel was wearing a flotation jacket and the other, a flotation suit. A life vest was found near the deceased crew member who made it to shore. It is unknown what type of flotation device the operator was wearing, if any.